The SF Daily doesn't post stories online, so I'm putting some of mine up.
Published on April 23, 2007
By Melanie Carroll
SF Daily Staff Writer
A Jaguar-driving attorney is suing State Farm Insurance for $250,000 after the insurance giant allegedly refused to pay for damages caused by a North Beach pothole, court records show.
Hugo Torbet was driving his 2000 Jaguar XK8 on Bay Street, between Stockton and Mason streets, when he hit a sharp pothole, resulting in damage to the left-front wheel rim, according to court documents filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
Torbet is also suing the City and County of San Francisco for $4,500 because the city maintained the street containing the pothole last May.
Calls to the City Attorney’s press office were unreturned Thursday.
The case is scheduled to return to court in August.
The irreparable damage to the Jaguar’s left-front wheel rim cost $4,459 to repair, which State Farm agents said could be replaced for $225, according to court documents.
Insurance company employees didn’t even look at the rim before determining how much to offer to pay, Torbet said during a telephone interview.
“Jaguar controls the parts,” Torbet said. “You can only get them through the dealers.”
The car had low-profile tires and Jaguar no longer produces the type of rims on his 2000 Jaguar, the San Francisco attorney said.
The Illinois-based insurance company doesn’t typically comment in ongoing court cases, State Farm spokesman Savag Sarkissian said.
“In California, State Farm processes 900,000 auto claims each year,” Sakrissian said. “Each one is evaluated on its own merits.”
While State Farm thinks the left-front wheel rim damage is only worth $225 according to court documents, Torbet said that the $250,000 figure is more than what he expects to actually receive.
“They were acting in bad faith. It caused distress,” Torbet said. “I got very angry. It kind of drove me crazy.”
State Farm failed to live up to the “Good Neighbor” image portrayed in television commercials, Torbet said.
In 1999, Torbet sued the City of Los Angeles and United Airlines for illegally searching his bags after they had already gone through a security checkpoint metal detector.
Torbet argued that his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated by the second search.
That case was dismissed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
In both cases, Torbet’s attorney is Pasadena-based attorney Vincent Chan.
Published on April 23, 2007
By Melanie Carroll
SF Daily Staff Writer
A Jaguar-driving attorney is suing State Farm Insurance for $250,000 after the insurance giant allegedly refused to pay for damages caused by a North Beach pothole, court records show.
Hugo Torbet was driving his 2000 Jaguar XK8 on Bay Street, between Stockton and Mason streets, when he hit a sharp pothole, resulting in damage to the left-front wheel rim, according to court documents filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
Torbet is also suing the City and County of San Francisco for $4,500 because the city maintained the street containing the pothole last May.
Calls to the City Attorney’s press office were unreturned Thursday.
The case is scheduled to return to court in August.
The irreparable damage to the Jaguar’s left-front wheel rim cost $4,459 to repair, which State Farm agents said could be replaced for $225, according to court documents.
Insurance company employees didn’t even look at the rim before determining how much to offer to pay, Torbet said during a telephone interview.
“Jaguar controls the parts,” Torbet said. “You can only get them through the dealers.”
The car had low-profile tires and Jaguar no longer produces the type of rims on his 2000 Jaguar, the San Francisco attorney said.
The Illinois-based insurance company doesn’t typically comment in ongoing court cases, State Farm spokesman Savag Sarkissian said.
“In California, State Farm processes 900,000 auto claims each year,” Sakrissian said. “Each one is evaluated on its own merits.”
While State Farm thinks the left-front wheel rim damage is only worth $225 according to court documents, Torbet said that the $250,000 figure is more than what he expects to actually receive.
“They were acting in bad faith. It caused distress,” Torbet said. “I got very angry. It kind of drove me crazy.”
State Farm failed to live up to the “Good Neighbor” image portrayed in television commercials, Torbet said.
In 1999, Torbet sued the City of Los Angeles and United Airlines for illegally searching his bags after they had already gone through a security checkpoint metal detector.
Torbet argued that his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated by the second search.
That case was dismissed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
In both cases, Torbet’s attorney is Pasadena-based attorney Vincent Chan.
posted by MellieMel at 12:35 PM
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